EE has two million 4G customers

MOBILE OPERATOR EE now has two million people using its high speed 4G mobile network.

EE launched its 4G service at the tail end of 2012 and has rolled it out steadily across the country. EE said that, just a week after the end of 2013, it has twice as many users as it had expected by now.

Earlier estimates by the firm pegged 2013 as the year it would hit one million 4G subscribers. In fact it made that number within 10 months and doubled it four months later. Later this month, the network said, it will cover 70 percent of the UK population. EE said that such quick uptake of high-speed mobile services is unheard of outside South Korea.

"Our 4G launch in October 2012 marked a new era for mobile users, allowing consumers and businesses to do much more on the move. We're incredibly proud of being the first UK operator to bring 4G to the UK and, in just over a year, exceeding our target by reaching two million 4G customers across the country," said EE CEO Olaf Swantee.

"This year, our network priority is to deliver the benefits of superfast mobile internet to more of the UK and invent even more innovative ways for our customers to make the most of their 4G experience."

EE's 24-30Mbps network presently covers 160 cities and towns, and its offers include shared and pay as you go tariffs.

Voice calls across the entire EE network have increased by 25 percent, but the average data use among 4G subscribers has grown by 70 percent. Social media and videos, presumably of cats napping, playing and begging for lunch in front of spelling mistakes, took up the largest chunk of traffic. µ